Man who collected hundreds of indecent images and videos of children jailed

Craig Robinson

Published:11:14Thursday 08 September 2016

Share this article

A man from Kirkby-in-Ashfield who amassed a collection of hundreds of indecent images and videos of children has been jailed for five years.

Craig Robinson, 31, of Beacon Drive, Kirkby, contacted girls as young as seven-years-old in the Philippines via Facebook Messenger, engaging them in sexually explicit conversation, urging them to carry out sexual acts and requesting indecent images of them. He also sent indecent images of himself to them.

Robinson was arrested at his home on June 29, after officers from Nottinghamshire Police’s Sexual Exploitation Investigation Unit (SEIU) had received a tip-off from Norfolk and Suffolk Police, which had been leading Operation Bane, an investigation of file-sharing of indecent images via the internet.

Once Robinson’s IP (Internet Protocol) address had been identified, he was located following a request to his service provider.

Upon arrest, Robinson admitted not only downloading and possessing hundreds of images and videos, but also to contacting the girls via social media and sending cash via a money transfer company to obtain the material.

His collection included 640 Category A images, the most serious category of abuse.

He had already pleaded guilty to a total of 14 charges, including making indecent images of children and causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday 2 September for sentencing.

In addition to his five years in prison, Robinson will serve an extended licence period of an additional three years following his release. He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely and is subject to the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Detective Inspector Pete Quinn, of the Nottinghamshire SEIU, said: “This case demonstrates the importance of the sharing of information between forces and the internet industry.

“We are determined to trace individuals, such as Robinson who use the technology to exploit children for the purposes of their own sexual gratification.

“It is clear that Robinson knew that what he was doing was entirely depraved and illegal, but he continued to seek out this material and to directly encourage his young victims into performing sexual acts for some considerable time.

“This sentence means that not only will Robinson serve a significant prison sentence, but he will spend the rest of his life being monitored to prevent him ever exploiting young children in this way again.”